A former Marine was convicted on Tuesday in the deaths of the American Sniper author and another man at a shooting range two years ago, as jurors rejected defence arguments that he was insane and suffered from psychosis.
The trial of Eddie Ray Routh has drawn intense interest, in part because of the blockbuster Oscar-nominated film based on former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s memoir about his four tours in Iraq.
Kyle, officially credited with killing 160 people during four military tours, was lionised in the blockbuster film starring Bradley Cooper as the soldier.
Since prosecutors didn’t seek the death penalty in the capital murder case, the 27-year-old receives an automatic life sentence without parole in the deaths of Kyle and Kyle’s friend, Chad Littlefield.
"You took the lives of two heroes, men that tried to be a friend to you. You became an American disgrace," Littlefield’s brother-in-law, Jerry Richardson, said of Routh in court after the sentence was handed down.
The prosecution painted Routh as a troubled drug user who knew right from wrong, despite any mental illnesses. While trial testimony and evidence often included Routh making odd statements and referring to insanity, he also confessed several times, apologised for the crimes and tried to evade police.